When Bundjalung
and Jiman woman Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson called upon Australia’s
peak body for counselling and psychotherapy to
take real action to address the trauma of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Psychotherapy and Counselling
Federation of Australia (PACFA) listened.
PACFA, in association with our Indigenous-led
College of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Practices, is proud to
release Indigenous Healing Practice Training Standards which will strengthen
and develop the Indigenous Healing workforce.
The training standards will be used to develop
PACFA membership pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
practitioners that support their use of Indigenous healing practices, and to promote guidelines and culturally
safe principles of practice for non-Aboriginal practitioners to support
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s healing.
The national suicide rate for
Aboriginal people is estimated to be twice the rate of the general population.
In 2016, 30% of reported suicide deaths were Aboriginal children and young
people.
By providing a benchmark for accreditation of Indigenous
Healing Practice training and for Indigenous Healing Practitioners to register
with PACFA, the standards support culturally safe and strengths-based, appropriate
healing therapies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The standards were developed by the College of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Practices (CATSIHP) Leadership
Group, headed by Dr Carlie Atkinson, CEO of We Al-li, an organisation which
provides trauma integrated and culturally informed healing, programs and
activities.
The standards identify 8 key features of
Indigenous Healing Practice:
-
· Deep listening
-
· Relationships
-
· Connection to Country
-
· Culture
-
· Family and Community healing focus
-
· Mind, body and emotions
-
· Indigenous pedagogy and de-colonising practices
-
· Spirituality.
The standards reference the many ways in which
Indigenous Healing Practitioners may work, including talk therapies, body-based
therapies, mindfulness techniques, bush medicine, animal-assisted therapies, connection
to country and culture (including art, song and dance), ceremony and
story-telling.
They also define Indigenous Healing Practice
as emerging from a culturally informed, trauma-integrated framework, and embedded
in deep listening practice.
‘As the relationship to country and ancestors
is foundational to Indigenous Healing Practice, a healing session may take
place outside or it might include aspects of nature within the session – for
example using smoke, ochre, totems or other natural objects to support the
connection to Country and ancestors,’ the standards state.
CATSIHP Convenor Dr Carlie Atkinson said:
‘What the professionals within the Colleges of counselling, psychotherapy and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Practices share is a focus on
relational connection, so this is nourishing soil in which CATSIHP is sowing
seeds to contribute to the growth of Indigenous Healing Practice in this
country.
‘PACFA and CATSIHP are proud to put forward
these standards, which recognise the specific skills and approach of Indigenous
Healing Practitioners.
‘The standards provide a structure for the development
and expansion of strengths-based Indigenous Healing Practice, which is so
sorely needed in Australia. They set down the central tenets of Indigenous
Healing Practice – connection to Country, Family and Community – and it is the
relationship between these that nurtures good mental health.
‘The training standards are a significant step
in supporting a holistic, strengths-based approach to the healing of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples.’
The standards document articulates the minimum
training and requirements for PACFA-registered Indigenous Healing
Practitioners, PACFA-registered non-Indigenous Healing Practitioners and
PACFA-accredited Indigenous Healing Practice training programs. Applications
for accreditation as an Indigenous Healing Practitioner are expected to open in
early 2022.
For further information/interviews with
CATSIHP Elder Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson, contact PACFA Communications
Manager, Stephanie Francis
E: [email protected]
M: 0487 494 031